How to Turn Your Laptop into a Free WiFi Hotspot for iPad and iPhone

Today it is more uncommon to find someone without an Internet connection than someone with one. A small problem is that people don’t have WiFi connections all the time. This can especially be an issue for example when traveling and needing to access the Internet. While some hotels offer paid-for WiFi services they are often expensive and only allow one device to be connected. Below we offer a simple solution to this problem by showing how to turn your laptop into a free WiFi hotspot to access the Internet on more than one device. This will save you the problem of wasting your iPhone battery and 3G usage by tethering your iPhone. You simply need to have your laptop connected to the Internet via a cable or dongle connection so that your wireless card is free to be used for the hotspot.

Steps on How to Turn Your Laptop into a Free WiFi Hotspot- Mac OS X

Open “Control Panel.” Double-click on the “Network and Sharing Center.” Alternatively right-click on the “Network” icon in the “System” tray.

Double-click on the “Set up a new connection or network” link. A wizard will pop-up.

Give your network a name and set-up the security measures when prompted. Ensure you check the box entitled”Save this Network.”

Return to the “Network and Sharing Center” window. Click on the “Change adapter settings” link. Locate your network connection. Enable Internet connection sharing on just the adapter that is actually connected to the Internet such as the LAN or dongle flash drive.

Steps on How to Turn Your Laptop into a Free WiFi Hotspot- Windows

Open “System Preferences” and click on the “Sharing” icon.

Check the “Internet Sharing” checkbox in the left-hand menu. Click on the “Wifi” checkbox in the “To Computers Using” menu. A WiFi hotspot will be created from your Mac

Click the “WiFi Options” button. Select “WPA2 Personal from the drop-down menu in the pop-up window. Type in a chosen password and repeat it to confirm. Click “OK.”

Type in the password when prompted when trying to join your WiFi network from your mobile device.